Superhero Movie & TV Show Composers Panel Set for Comic-Con 2017

The roster of composers that will be speaking at the fifth annual "Music Anatomy of a Superhero" panel at San Diego Comic-Con later this month has been revealed. The discussion is between select musicians and composers who score films and television series in the superhero genre.

What is a superhero without a rousing musical theme to underscore his or her acts of heroism? Composers have a very important job in the superhero genre, tasked with heightening the emotion and fantasy of the escapism being set for the audience. Some of the most notable film themes composed throughout history include the work of composers like John Williams (Superman: the Movie), Alan Silvestri (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers), Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider-Man), Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, Man of Steel) and Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles, Spider-Man: Homecoming).

No one of quite that pedigree is on the list of the "Musical Anatomy of a Superhero" panel this year, but the Comic-Con event does feature a group of experienced and accomplished list of composers, who are ready to give their insight about the challenges and rewards of working within the genre. According to Deadline, the panel discussion will take place on Thursday, July 20 at 10 AM in the Indigo Ballroom. This years composers include Mark Isham (Marvel's Cloak and Daggertelevision series), Marco Beltrami (The Wolverine, Logan), Ludwig Goransson (Black Panther, Death Wish), Brian Tyler (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Power Rangers), David Russo (Gotham) and Lorne Balfe (The LEGO Batman Movie).

If there's a headliner on this panel, it's probably Beltrami, whose work on Loganhas been praised throughout the industry with a bit of early Oscar buzz. Beltrami and Isham have both been nominated for Academy Awards in the past, with Beltrami earning nods for 3:10 to Yuma (another James Mangold film) and The Hurt Locker and Isham for A River Runs Through It. Tyler's name was attached to the biggest project, as Age of Ultron is a massive production that probably gave him some valuable insight about the franchise business to share with the attentive panel crowd.

In the past, the panel has featured notable composers like Christophe Beck(Ant-Man), Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), John Powell (Hancock), Junkie XL (Deadpool, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), and John Ottman(X-Men: Apocalypse, Superman Returns). They've yet to land one of the show-stopping names mentioned above, but this is a very solid roster of professionals to get for a unique panel that appeals to a lot of interested convention-goers. These composers are all sure to have interesting opinions on what is definitely a complicated but thrilling process.